We all gathered around Uncle, talking small stories till dinner time.
Charlotte was in her room at the far end of the upper verandah. Jane was asking about the Bruff Wall birds that come from Siberia in the winter. I was looking at the paintings on the flower pot on the table while uncle explained things. There were a few flowers in it that did not smell.
I was thinking about what Jack said.
I could not believe that all these things were true. I do not doubt that Satan can work miracles. But it made me wonder how those terrorists could be enslaved by a much lesser man than them.
But, he didn't tell me everything? So I tried to console myself.
Jack took a thick book from the shelves by the window. He did it open sitting on the carpet.
"My interest lies in such subjects."
I whispered looking at the book Jack was holding up as I saw my uncle talking to Jane. It was a book containing stories of Satans. I moved toward him with interest.
"Papa, can Satan be controlled by spells? This is how the protagonist enslaves Satan." Uncle and Jane started laughing as soon as they heard Jack's question.
But I didn't find it funny. I give more importance to it. Because I had believed Jack's claim that if he could enslave Satan, Satan would grant us any wish we had. Therefore, the thought that I would no longer be afraid of mathematics filled me with hope. Even though this is unexpected information, the benefits that come from it make me a firm believer in it.
"Tell me, papa," Jack asked again.
" Didn't I cast a spell to answer that? And how to say?" Dad laughed.
"We have not seen any Satan except you," Charlotte said.
Everyone laughed.
Jack's face crumpled into a grin.
"Indeed." Aunt came to the room with food and said.
Jane asked uncle, an officer in the country's spy agency, about the adventures of his espionage missions. Uncle entertained us with the story of how he shot and captured a spy in a dark street in Rome with a special gun that make people fall unconscious.
"With that gun, the Satan and ghost can be shot," Jack said
"The Satan and the ghost are incorporeal, they have no body. Then, how to shoot them?" Asked Jane
"Are Satans and ghosts real, Uncle?" I simply asked.
"Ghosts and Satans are creations of human imagination. There is no such thing on this earth where we live."
"So what are ghosts and witchcraft?" I asked.
" Stories for entertainment, and for some people a livelihood," Uncle replied with a smile.
Hearing uncle's statement, I looked at Jack. He just winked showing don't mind it.
"Uncle, can you show us that special gun that shoots people to sleep?" Jane asked.
Uncle laughed. "It is not a hand-held weapon, intended for use in highly complex operations only."
"Then where is that gun?" I asked.
"In the secret room where deadly weapons are stored in our headquarters."
"There are a lot of interesting weapons in that room, like what you see in James Bond's hand," said Charlotte.
Uncle laughed. Then I realized that it was fun.
"Uncle, do you have any other spy equipment like this that we want to see?" Jane asked again anxiously.
Immediately uncle went into the room and came with a colorless cooling glass.
"This is a special glass, known as cat's eye. It helps to see at night. If you put on this glass, you won't need light at night." Before uncle could finish saying that, Jane took it and ran out with it on her face, I followed her.
"Oh beautiful, wonderful!" Jain said, looking into the darkness outside with the glasses on. "Everything is clear. Even the color of the flowers is vivid."
"Where ?" I bought it and looked at it. Moonlight light ahead..!
"It's amazing stuff..! It looks like the moon is filled all around."
" Satan can also be seen in this," said Jack.
Uncle who was standing right behind me replied with a smile. "Can't see the Satan that doesn't exist, but can see some other unusual thing that does."
"What..?" asked Jane before me.
"It shows aliens coming and going on our earth."
"Yes? Jane immediately took the glasses off my face and looked around. "Where are the aliens..? Nothing in this area?"
Uncle laughed again. "That means they are nowhere to be found. We will see when they are with us."
"Uncle, have you seen uncle?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes, our same body structure, no change. But their bodies are made of a glass-like material. If you see them, you will feel like a shiny glass vase, like crystal."
"Really.. ?" Jane's anxiety grew. "What planet do they come from? How do they get to Earth?"
Jane's question amused uncle even more. He became eloquent. "They come from the planet known as Nikras in the Valgophoras solar system, a solar system that exists more than five hundred light-years away. There are rivers of white rays in space that travel many times faster than light. Aliens travel through it."
Jack arrives with a book before the stunned Jane can begin to ask her next question.
"If you have any further doubts, just read this." He handed her a science fiction novel called Crystal Men.
"Read it. A beautiful story about celestial beings." Uncle said with a smile.
"So all these are just stories?" asked Jane.
"Unseen things are all stories." said the uncle.
"If so, what is flying saucer and Ufology?" she asked without pretending to leave him. "Aren't these things that led to great discussions? Many works and films have been based on these subjects. These are still active. Aliens are a hot topic in Hollywood."
"They are all creations to exploit human curiosity about the unknown. All of them perform that task well. Moreover, all this is also a topic of discussion for some people. Maybe there are planets with life in the upper world. Can never say no. Because our planet Earth is proof of that. Each star in the sky is a solar system. In all of them, you will see the planets and moons orbiting that star. It may have planets suitable for life like our Earth. Those planets may have terrestrial or non-terrestrial life forms. But till now we have no proof of this except for some speculations and stories. Because the solar systems where these said planets exist are far beyond what we can even imagine."
"If there are humans on other planets who are more advanced in knowledge and technology than we are, can they come?" Jane asked.
"Yes, they can come, and let them come." Uncle laughed. "But no one has come yet. That doesn't mean it will never happen. Although we won't be able to go to alien planets anytime soon, if there are lifeforms on alien planets that are more knowledgeable than us, be it, humans or other creatures, like Jane said, they might come here. It's not a myth, just as we send space probes to our neighboring planets, one day their probes like this so-called flying saucer may come to our Earth. Can't say it will never happen. Come let's have dinner." Uncle took the glasses and let everyone inside and closed the door.
After aunt had put the food on the dining table, we all sat down to have dinner.
Cold air wafted into the room, stirring the window curtains. Aunt Elizabeth was watching me through her glasses. Watching me eat is already fun for her.
After dinner, we again gathered around uncle in the living room.
Jane's only insistence was on listening to stories, and I watched Jack as uncle began to tell the story. He was as nervous as I was.
Now only a little talk about that matter, the matter about Satan, will bring peace.
Time was ticking and finally, uncle told us to go to bed.
Then Jack and I went upstairs. Jack's room is directly opposite Charlotte's room upstairs.
Aunt Elizabeth came into the room.
She said as fixed the mattress. "Don't talk anymore. It's late."
Jack looked at me with a goofy grin. I can only guess what that means.
"Mickey, you mustn't have listened to Jack. If you sleep now, you can wake up earlier. Waking up early is a sign of good children."
"It should not be done during winter and rainy season," Jack grumbled.
"What do you know, you fool?" Aunt rubs his ears and goes out.
Jack closed the door and sat down on the bed.
I was leaning on the pillow. "How has this Satan troubled your mind? How did this crazy idea get into your head?"
He came next to me on the bed. "I got a book called Melville Crash a few weeks ago. It talks about enslaving Satan by the spell. I read it like reading a textbook and understood things carefully. And so I became interested in this subject. But I got closer to reality a few days ago. Our friend Lomeo told me about this in detail. All this was information he had heard from his sorcerer-grandfather. He said the same things as in the book. So I thought I'd make an effort on this mission."
"Can humans enslave Satan?"
"It can, but it requires some work. First, we must have something of the Satans in our possession. Lomeo himself told me this. He told me to get some valuable antiques from an abandoned house, something made of gold or silver. That's how I went to that dilapidated house. Mr. Harvey, who lived there, was the vassal of an English lord. So I thought I would find expensive artifacts there. Three times I searched among the ruins and still found nothing. Later, one evening with thunder and rain, I went to the steps of the house. Its roof collapsed that evening. If I had been there five minutes earlier, it would have fallen on me. I searched hastily among the wreckage, clearing away the weeds in the yard. I got this candle stand from a large plank."
"What is the proof that this is the product of Satan?"
"Satans come and congregate in uninhabited houses. The precious antiquities there will later become theirs. This is the information that Lomeo heard from his grandfather. He said that this candle stand belongs to Satan." Jack continued to look questioningly. "Have you read the book Melville Crash? It describes such things in detail. Melville found some mythical copper coins in an empty cave. He thought it was good luck and kept it. But will Satan leave? Satan started walking behind him. Finally, a sorcerer gave the formula to bind Satan. And so Melville enslaved Satan. That is what we are going to do."
"What.. ?"
"I have that book in my hand. At the end of it, it is clearly stated what Melville did to enslave Satan, we will do the same."
"But where will we do this?"
In a desolate uninhabited area. There must also be a dark, uninhabited old building. There should be an eerie silence and a dark atmosphere around that wooded place. These are the signs of a devil's sanctuary.
"But wouldn't the environment of an inhabited house be like this?"
"Do Satans come to inhabited houses? The house I mentioned must have been uninhabited for years. Satans are always present in the darkness of that frightening desolation. It was in such a house that Melville enslaved the Satan."
I was confused. "Jack, where can we find a house that combines all the environments you mentioned? Old buildings can be seen in some places in the countryside. But it doesn't have to be in a deserted area or in the thick of trees. Where can you find such a house?"
"Let's find out. Before that, if we meet Lomeo and know a few things in detail, we can do the thing nicely."
"Yes, We can see him the next day. Jack, can we catch Satan?"
"Catch..? Never."
"Then everything you said so far was just to play me?"
"Why should we catch Satan? We can make him our slave. He only appears when we tell him to, don't you understand?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I meant. Do they know math?"
"Of course, they know everything. Any messy calculation they can do within a second. In Melville Crash, two centuries ago, a mathematician on the island of Navasa in the Atlantic had a Satan to help him with his calculations. Melville Crash states that the mathematician bound Satan from a cave in the African jungle."
"Really..?" I was excited. "Do you how much the math bothers me? I wouldn't go to the boarding school in St. Louis if I get help from Satan."
"To St. Louis…?"
"Yes, Jack." I told him all the information.
"Aren't you brave enough? The brave will not be afraid of this. Why don't you try to study math?"
"I can't remember the wild faces of the teachers. Also, I hate math."
"We can fix that. Charlotte will teach you math in three weeks. What is the difficulty of understanding the basics of mathematics? Anyway, I don't mean to leave you in St. Louis."
I didn't say anything for a while. Can I learn math in three weeks? Charlotte would obviously teach me math if I wanted to learn it. But, it has been a long time since I started dreaming of colorful life in St. Louis. I can't give up those dreams suddenly.
But I decided that I will study math till I go back from here. But if we can enslave Satan then why study math? Relief came to mind, as a thought of hope.
At eleven o'clock Jack fell on the bed and stretched out.
"Jack, are you sleeping?"
"Mickey, I don't want to. But what can be done, sleep is weakening the eyelids."
Then I turned off the light and lay down on the mattress.
A thin moon streamed into the room through the open window. But the winter wind blowing from time to time annoyed us a lot.
I pulled the blanket up to my neck. Jack didn't have a movement.
"Jack, how shall we prepare for the spell?"
A long snort came from him in response. I couldn't help but laugh.
He was already asleep.
Outside the wind howled in rhythm. Those sounds rose wildly. On its ascent, they sounded like the cawing of sea-gulls, and on its descent like a melodious forest song. The castle of Satan filled in my mind. Seeking refuge from the darkness of fear, I basked in the warmth of the blanket. I soon drifted off to sleep, mesmerized by the sound of harps played by the princesses of Satan's Castle.